Maserati maniac jailed for 12 years over death crash
He killed island vet after 8-hour drinking binge
A DRINK-DRIVER who killed a popular vet after downing cider and whisky and then speeding at 95mph was yesterday jailed for 12 years.
Thomas Wainwright, 27, was on the wrong side of the road when his Maserati sports car ploughed into Theresa Wade’s van.
The 29-year-old died at the scene, trapped in her vehicle.
Wainwright had been drinking for eight-and-a-half hours – but tried to blame his victim for the smash.
Speaking outside court, Miss Wade’s partner of ten years, Charles Pease, said: ‘The sentence could have been more but it’s a judicial matter over which we have no influence. It doesn’t bring Theresa back.’
He said the family’s faith in the justice system was ‘not misplaced’, adding: ‘Has justice been done? Thomas Wainwright will have 12 years to reflect upon that.
‘Me, I should choose to forget Thomas Wainwright. I have too many happy recollections of Theresa to let Thomas Wainwright spoil them.’
Wainwright was convicted last month at the High Court in Glasgow of causing death by dangerous driving on the A849 in Craignure, Isle of Mull, on October 28, 2015.
He was on the wrong side of the road and travelling at speeds of up to 95mph just before the head-on crash.
At the moment of impact, his speed was 69mph, as recorded on a black box device fitted to the hired Maserati.
During the trial, Wainwright and his passenger – his mother’s partner, Jerome Lopez, 42 – tried to blame Miss Wade by claiming her Berlingo van was on the wrong side of the road.
But road traffic experts who examined the crash scene ruled this was not the case.
Witnesses said Wainwright and Mr Lopez had been drinking cider and whisky in four venues, including at the Craignure Inn. While there, they were asked who was driving because both men had consumed alcohol and Wainwright boasted: ‘The car knows its own way home.’
He then got behind the wheel, claiming he had ‘a clear head’ and felt fine to drive.
The crash happened less than three miles away.
Wainwright – first officer on the £6.26million yacht MY Mahogany, based in the south of France – was on Mull to visit his sick grandmother. He flew into edinburgh Airport and hired the Maserati.
Ian Duguid, QC, defending, said: ‘He has expressed genuine remorse but that has not come across to the social worker who compiled a background report.
‘That may be because his first language is French. His family is of Scottish origin but he has lived in France for most of his life. He has lost his job and now his liberty.’
Sentencing Wainwright, Judge John Morris, QC, said: ‘You were spoken to by a concerned member of the public who asked how you were getting home. Your reply was, “The car knows its own way home” – a remark all too indicative of your general attitude to all that transpired.
‘You persistently drove at ridiculously excessive speeds.
‘You have shown no remorse for your actions – quite the contrary. Your arrogance in giving evidence and in the social inquiry report is quite staggering.’
Wainwright was also banned from driving for 15 years and showed no emotion as he was led away.
He has a previous conviction for driving while unfit through drink or drugs. A court in Nice fined him 700 euros and issued a suspended sentence.
‘Shown no remorse’